Chris Henry: Death penalty fair and just

We keep hearing many disparaging stories about the death penalty, including the front page article ( “Execution lasts 2 hours in Arizona,” July 24) on Joseph Wood. By placing the story where it was, it tells us the media is pushing this very liberal idea of eliminating the death penalty because of its “inhumane” treatment.

We keep hearing many disparaging stories about the death penalty, including the front page article ( “Execution lasts 2 hours in Arizona,” July 24) on Joseph Wood. By placing the story where it was, it tells us the media is pushing this very liberal idea of eliminating the death penalty because of its “inhumane” treatment. To that, let me make three points:

• Don’t forget why Joseph Wood was executed. He murdered two people in cold blood, for which he didn’t have to pay the ultimate penalty for 25 years, living off the taxpayers’ dime.
• When I took my fox terrier to be euthanized, they gave him a powerful sedative which “put him to sleep” and stopped his heart almost immediately. Why don’t we just do that for the criminals on death row? Is it humane enough for my dog but not enough for a murderer?
• Since the liberal establishment is for the elimination of the “cruelty” of execution, why not just do it in a fashion that they would approve of, like the common pregnancy termination. We could just have a doctor crush the criminal’s head. If a woman has a constitutional right to do something so barbaric to the innocent, shouldn’t a victim of a heinous crime have the same right over the perpetrator? Or do we simply have the constitutional right to hypocrisy?